Never Talk to Strangers

Spoiler alert!

The film opens with forensic psychologist Sarah conducting an examination of murder defendant Max. Sarah tells Max the police positively identified him.
Max: "Yes. By a little teenage crack whore..."
Sarah: "And how often would you say you suffer from bouts of amnesia?"
Max: "I don't remember... Just kidding."
Sarah: "I am here at the request of the court. My job is to find out whether or not you are competent to stand trial. Tell me about these voices that you hear. Do the voices come from inside of your head. Do they come from outside of your head?"
Max: "Outside. Sometimes I hear the voices coming from the TV, telling me to do things... Does it make a difference... if I have MPD, multiple personality disorder."

Sarah dictates Max's evaluation at her office: "A cousin had a psychiatric hospitalization. The defendant has no former prior psychiatric history, however he does exhibit signs of multiple personality disorder. He describes finding himself places and having no idea how he got there." Max's attorney Wabash enters her office and says, "This guy's a total schizo. We're talking Jekyll and Hyde here."
Sarah: "I think you're confusing schizophrenia with multiple personality disorder... He could be suffering from schizophrenia or he could be suffering from MPD, but unless he's making psychiatric history he can't be both."
Wabash: "What you're saying is he's faking this in order to beat the rap..." (0:07)

Sarah tells her new lover Tony, "My mother was killed when I was five, and we moved away... in a car crash." (0:20)

Sarah continues her examination of Max in jail.
Max: "You're a very judgmental person for a psychologist."
Sarah: "I want to ask you a little more about these voices that you say you hear." (0:24)

Shooting at targets at an amusement park appears to trigger a flashback of someone falling down stairs and Sarah loses consciousness. (0:28)

On television the reporter says, "Accused serial killer Max Chesky... awaiting trial... defense maintains he is not guilty by reason of insanity, and yesterday the prosecution's only witness OD'd on crack cocaine." (0:38)

Sarah tells Wabash in a bar, "If he is really suffering from multiple personality disorder one personality doesn't even know what the others are doing." (0:40)

Sarah continues her examination of Max in jail. She asks him how he feels about the person who committed the crime.
Max: "... can't tell the difference between right and wrong" (0:44)

In Tony's apartment Sarah experiences another flashback after she finds newspaper clippings describing her mother's shooting death. (1:04)

Sarah tells Tony, "I know you've been stalking me right from the beginning." (1:11)

Tony shows Sarah a video proving that, "You've been stalking yourself. You need help." (1:13)

When Sarah's stepfather Henry enters the apartment she experiences another flashback, this time of Henry pushing her mother down the stairs then forcing her to shoot and kill her own mother." (1:13)

Sarah describes childhood sexual abuse by Henry. (1:15)

Sarah seems to change. Is she switching personalities or parts? (1:18)

Sarah tells herself, "It never happened. I'm not going to remember any of this." (1:19)

At her office desk Sarah dictates to prepare for a presentation: "Multiple personality disorder cannot easily be faked. Witness the case of recently convicted serial killer Max Chesky who tried to use it as the basis of his defense. The creation of multiple personalities can always be traced back to childhood trauma, often involving violent sexual abuse. Subconsciously the child creates other personalities that share the burden, the literally unbearable burden of shame underlying the repressed memory of the childhood event. These personalities often turn against their creator, some times inflicting actual bodily harm." (1:21)

command hallucination | Dissociative Amnesia | Dissociative Identity Disorder | flashback | forensic psychologist | insane | Malingering | NGRI | Sexual Abuse of Child | stalking